One thing you need

[AI translation] I have long intended to preach on this Word, which tells the well-known story of Mary and Martha in a nutshell. It seems necessary, not only because there are misunderstandings in the minds of many about this story: they read from it a lesson, they draw conclusions from it that are not there, that could not have been the intention of Jesus in any case, but especially because we are in great need of the true teaching of this Word today. Let us see, then, what is wrong, what is wrong that Jesus criticises in Martha's behaviour, and what is right, what is right that he defends and recommends in Mary's behaviour.1) Martha's diligent work is not seemingly reprehensible, indeed it is praiseworthy. After all, they had a rare and kind guest in their house, Jesus of Nazareth. Who wouldn't do everything in their power for Him? Especially Martha, who truly loves the Lord! She knows that Jesus sometimes has so little time that he doesn't even have time to eat. He wanders from one village to another, surely lacking the proper care. Now is your chance to do something for Him! Like a good housewife, she gets to work. While Mary sits at the feet of the Lord, she cooks, cooks, sets the table, puts things in order, puts her heart and soul into the work, just to make everything good! Isn't it beautiful? Yes, it certainly is!
And yet there's something wrong with all this hurrying and hurrying! Luke the Evangelist describes Martha's work thus. Our new translation of the Bible renders it this way: 'Martha was completely occupied with her busy ministry. And Jesus' words are: "Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things. From these words, then, it is already clear that Martha's ministry was a restless, anxious, hurried, self-chasing ministry. Perhaps she was driven by thoughts such as. Will what I am doing be right? Will Jesus like it? Will the meat be overcooked? You could see all the trouble he was making for himself. He was making too big a deal out of it. He was pushing himself, he knew no boundaries. He was immersed, immersed in all the work. You never saw or heard from him! But - and this is the important thing - there was something and someone to see and hear! For Jesus was there, and he ran past him! He was pretending to sacrifice everything for Jesus, when in fact he was sacrificing Jesus for all the things that were unimportant! He wanted to show his love in his activity, but it was his activity that drowned his love!
The modern age produces many such Marthas. With accelerated means of transport, the pace of life has also accelerated. Some inner restlessness is chasing one. Hastening, driving, driving, but where to? Towards the grave! We make life difficult for ourselves. We are much busier than we have time - to live! We run past the beauties of our life, the great occasions, the joys and sorrows of others, like a train past a small guardhouse: we see nothing of it.
Modern Marthas, men and women! Where are you running to? What is your purpose, what do you want? What do you want to grasp, to achieve, to take power over, to fulfil? Oh, if the word of Jesus could stop me for a moment! You worry and fret about many things, but one thing is necessary! It's as if Jesus were saying, "You're caught up in all these things, you're tearing yourself apart! Don't you realize that you are no longer in control of your situation, but it is in control of you? He is throwing you around, playing with you. Because all the things you are breaking yourself for are not held together by one thing, one necessary thing, one guiding principle, one main direction, you are falling apart, you are losing everything, you are losing yourself! But there is only one necessary thing, the indispensable thing: to be with Jesus! But that is the one thing Martha does not have time for. This is her sin, this is her tragedy! That is why Jesus gently, but very seriously, rebukes Martha.
And there is another flaw in Martha's great zeal: such heightened activity usually has a deep spiritual background. There is something that one is covering up, in modern terms: one is compensating for something. This is also clear from the bitter outburst of Martha herself: 'Lord, have you no concern that my brother has left me to serve him? Tell him therefore to help me." So Martha feels sorry for herself. Look at what she does, running around, running around, she can hardly stand it, she sweats into it, and people don't even notice her, don't even say a word! Mary sits there with her hands in her lap, and he has to do everything alone! They left her alone. Well, now, even if she breaks down, she does it - she does it protestingly! No effect! Not even Jesus is worthy of attention. He doesn't even notice the injustice of what is happening. He feels that he is a poor victim, a misunderstood soul, a victim of the selfishness and comfort of others.
From this self-compassion comes all the hustle and bustle. Finally he gets into a rage, loses his self-control, bursts out. Tell him to help a little! Yes, let Mary feel how unjustly she is treated! Let Jesus tell him! It'll hurt, it'll hurt him too! Yes, that's what a man like that wants, to hurt the other man! He who only feels pity for himself wants to wound the hearts of others.
So it is not Martha's fault that she serves. In fact, it is good! It is necessary to prepare that lunch or dinner. But the fault is that she serves not with joy, not with cheerfulness, but with bitterness and hurt! This sin is very pernicious. The most zealous labour is corrupted by the spirit with which it is done. The spirit that is eager for recognition, for the sympathy of others, is always holding out for a little praise, and if it does not receive this alms, it falls into its work. Complaints, reproaches and self-pity drip out of him like the sour juice from a squeezed lemon! Such eagerness is not worth much!
2) And Jesus does one thing more: he takes Mary to his defense, saying, "She has chosen the better part, the part that will not be taken away from her. As if to say: You are wrong, Martha! Everything could have been done in silence, even the preparation of the meal, even the silence before me, and it could have all been done in joy and peace. Mary saw that a man serves me best when he gives me the opportunity to serve him. If he allows me to share in the abundance of my blessings!
Jesus is not here praising and prioritising idleness over diligence! No way! Mary is not the model of the idle, lazy, busybody! On the contrary, there is a great need for Marthas, Martha-types, who can get to the bottom of things and are tireless in good work! Only the danger of a life spent in such feverish activity is that it becomes flat, dull, dull, bitter, if there is no time for spiritual contemplation.
Just as a diver working at the bottom of the sea has an air conduit to the surface, so the Christian man has his own personal connection with a higher world, the kingdom of God. From there he gets the life-giving air to do his work down here. Indeed, it is not enough just to take a whiff of that upper region, but if he does not rise at intervals to another atmosphere, near Jesus, in the fellowship of His followers, and take off his diving helmet and breathe freely and deeply, he may well drown! Yes, we must at all costs seek calm in the world of the restless heart! Man must be able to create silence within himself and in his environment. An inner silence, a silence of harmony, of reconciliation, a good, creative silence of immersion in God!
The danger of Martha-type people is that they are always on the move. Often on the right road, perhaps for Jesus, but not with Jesus! They have no real encounter with the Source of Life, the Lord Jesus Christ. They don't have enough time to pray quietly, knees bent, Bible open, hands clasped, and listen to Jesus. They are overwhelmed by time, by worries, by work, by life. They are overwhelmed, so they are restless. They have no time to kneel down and sit at the feet of Jesus! Their inner life is shattered. They run from Jesus and from themselves!
Even the work of such a Christian man slowly becomes an empty, rattling machine. For how can a lamp wick burn without oil? How can an engine turn without electricity? How can anyone do anything for the glory of God if he does not live with Jesus? The lamp wick without oil only smokes, just as Martha smoked but gave no light.
We need hard-working Marthas, Martha-type men and women, but Jesus wants to bring us into the sanctuary first. Into retreat, into silence, into the one necessary thing, into communion with Him. To the open Bible, and through it to the open heart of God, precisely so that we do not go about our work with an empty heart. A man in a village once said that he had no time to pray, to do God's work, that he considered it a waste of time. His companion answered him. That is also a pastime, but it is not superfluous!
Well, yes: It is in silence, in the beneficial silence with God, that we sharpen our physical and spiritual strength for the work and problems of the day. It is there that God gives strength to the weak, refreshment to the weary, calm to the troubled heart. There, in the blessed silence of the encounter, Jesus heals our inner turmoil by putting things neatly into their proper place. There He adjusts to us the many things that must be done in a day, the one thing necessary. And that's how he prepares us for ministry free from hurry, effort and anxiety!
He who forgets this one necessary thing loses himself. But in the silence of the encounter with Jesus, life is always renewed for happy service!
Amen
Date: 8 May 1955.